


Legends

by aleeta6, daisyherondale



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:26:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23056933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aleeta6/pseuds/aleeta6, https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyherondale/pseuds/daisyherondale
Summary: The world  knew of the long lost Herondale daughter of James and Cordelia Herondale, unknown to anyone that she is still alive, her name known to world as Valeria Herondale, but unknown who are her parents.There was another one - a child with an angel's heart but both demon and angel's blood, another child with special talents and abilities.Her name is Cordelia Lovelace, one of six heroes who helped save the world.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Cordelia missed her  _ parabatai _ . She wasn't sure why Aline's mother had wanted her to Alicante. 

But Aline had promised her that she'll come soon to New York.

Cordelia had black hair, that was much like her fathers, and gray eyes that came from her mother. She had been raised in France for the first six years of her life, and hadn’t lost her accent despite having been in New York for the last nine years. She still sometimes struggled with the words in English, despite her mother being from America. She had just started learning the language when she had been sent to Brooklyn; Maryse, Robert and Izzy had helped her learn. Alec on the other hand wanted so desperately to help her, but he was bad at French, as he said something… Not really nice, and he gave up.

Later, when Jace had joined them, he also helped some. After he had warmed up to them.

Currently Cordelia was sitting on the steps of the Greenhouse, while her siblings are out on demon hunting. She got into trouble and Hodge had grounded her and told her that she was going to stay in for a week, which meant she wasn't allowed to help with any investigation, just sleep, eat, study and train. Little did anyone know that her grounding would soon be revoked.

When Cordelia told Aline that she was grounded, Aline laughed so hard until she couldn't breathe.

And of course Aline supported Hodge who grounded her, saying that she would have done the same.

Which had made her roll her eyes at her phone.

Cordelia looked up as she heard footsteps, and Hayley Lightwood came inside Greenhouse.

"Let me guess," Hayley started amused. "Hodge grounded you, didn't he?"

"Yes," Cordelia nodded sadly.

Hayley shook her head and sighed, "I don't even want to know what you did." She paused. "Where are your siblings?"

"They are out, on demon hunt." Cordelia shrugged. go with them.

But before Hayley could say anything, Cordelia interrupted her, "I have a feeling something happened while they were hunting demons."

Hayley eyed her thoughtfully.

Her friend, siblings and of course Aline too, had gotten used to the fact that Cordelia Lovelace had always known somehow about many things, and was always right about it, but they never questioned why it was. 

An ability she wouldn't explain to anyone.

But to herself, Cordelia just knew that things were this way, without any fixed reason, like the vague fact had been a part of her memory, some distant thing, someone might have told her a long time ago.

Hayley was only here for a week, before she had to return to Spain. Cordelia had a feeling that - whatever had happened with the Lightwood siblings - would cause Hayley to stick around for a little while longer. She was supposed to be heading home in a few days

“Have you spoken with Poppy or Brandon?” Cordelia asked. 

Hayley shook her head. “Not since I first got here.”

Poppy Herondale and Brandon Cartwright. Both had been in New York for almost two years, though the former hardly spent time at the Institute. Poppy had two other siblings. Delilah, who was the head of the London Institute (and had been since she turned eight-teen in 2004), is the oldest. Jasmine, Poppy’s twin, lived at Herondale Manor in Idris with their mother, Amatis. They were nearly nineteen. 

There is a fourth Herondale, nobody knew who her parents were. Valerie turns sixteen in a few months. Nobody knew if her last name really was Herondale, but she'd been raised by Jessamine and had been given the last name when she had been given to her by a Faerie General.

She lived in Los Angeles, with her Parabatai, Mark Blackthorn. This past spring had been their  _ Parabatai  _ Ceremony.

Cordelia looked up as the doors swung open, revealing very angry Isabelle, followed by Alec and Jace.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia frowned.

"Guess what." Said Isabelle, as Hayley and Cordelia raised eyebrows. "Mundie almost got Jace killed."

Cordelia stared at her wide eyed, as she stood up, "How?" She demanded.

"We don't know." Alec said. "But she definitely had a sight." He said, as he handed her a small brown bag.

They haven't had a mundane with sight in forever. It was a really rare thing that could possibly occur, and everyone knew something was wrong.

Cordelia opened a bag that Alec handed her, and was pleased to see few cupcakes in.

"Have you spoken to Hodge?" Hayley questioned.

"Not yet. But I want to find her." Jace said, determined.

"No, don't. You better let the Clave handle it." Cordelia said, as she took a bite of cupcake.

"Like you let the Clave handle the demonic activity at warehouse? And then I had to come and get you?" Jace raised his eyebrow.

He was talking about the incident that got her in trouble in first place. The one incident that kept Cordelia from leaving institute for days.

"Shut up," Cordelia frowned. "I don't need you to remind me. Besides, this isn't the same. We've never had a Mundane with the Sight almost get one of us killed. At least not that I recall." She said thoughtfully. 

"And for the record, Jace, I was doing just fine before you showed up."

She had been overwhelmed, and they all knew it. She'd thought she could handle it, but she couldn't. Even if she was one of the best shadowhunters of her generation. 

Even better then her adoptive siblings.

Disregarding her words about her about the events that had gotten her grounded, Jace added, "Poppy and Brandon were there. And they knew the Mundane well enough for her to know their names."

"Really?" Both Cordelia and Hayley blinked, startled.

"Yeah," Isabelle nodded. 

"I am going to speak with Hodge about it. And we'll see what are we going to do." Jace said, but before anyone could protest, he quickly left greenhouse.

Alec shook his head, with sigh "He is going after that mundane girl anyway." He responded. "Someone should go with him."

"I'll go," Cordelia said cheerfully. "Besides, I couldn't wait to finally leave the institute for a bit." She murmured.

"It has been only a few days." Hayley and Alec pointed out, in unision.

"Yes, it has." Cordelia replied, with sigh. "I should go and see what is Hodge going to say." She quickly left greenhouse, and set to find Jace and Hodge.

Cordelia hurried towards the library, where she suspected, were Hodge and Jace.

She pushed the doors of library opened, and indeed, Hodge and Jace were talking with each other.

Hodge was sitting by the fireplace, as he listened everything what Jace said, as Cordelia silently sat next to her adoptive brother on armchair.

"You should go," Hodge nodded. "Bring her here. And don't do anything stupid." He warned. 

"We never do anything stupid." Cordelia confidently replied.

Hodge shook his head at her, not bothering to reply to her words. "You may as well wait until tomorrow to go find this Mundane."

"Very well." Cordelia and Jace nodded.

"Good night, Hodge." Cordelia and Jace said cheerfully in unision.

"Good night." Hodge said amused.


	2. City of Bones: Chapter 2

Valerie Herondale had lived at the Los Angeles Institute for just over two years, if she were being specific, and in that time she had found her own style. She'd always had a certain taste for music, but she hadn't been able to dress how she'd wanted in London. Band shirts? Iffy, but acceptable. Jean's? As long as they weren't ripped. Makeup? Natural, only. 

Her mother was conservative, taking some of her childhood and trying to modernize it. Jessie had been born in the early 1880s, and had been about nineteen when the demon plague - from demon who could walk in the sunlight - had attacked London in the early 1900s.

What about posters? One or two, but there weren't many up. At least not in room at her home in London. The LA one was full of posters that she'd got over the years. Groups that she liked, characters that were her favorite.

The only thing that her room in London had were childhood memories, and most of her books. Some of her old art, too, from the point in her life when she'd wanted to try her hand at drawing. It hadn't been a long phase.

It also had some of her old stuffed animals that she hadn't wanted to take with her on grounds that they'd be to childish for someone who was trained to kill demons. The one that she did take, the one that she couldn't be parted with, was her stuffed seal that she'd named Cila when she was three years old.

She liked her room here at the Los Angeles Institute. It had as many posters up as she could fit. On the walls, on her door, in her closet, on the ceiling. She had a boombox on her nightstand, right next to her closet. Her CD's were organized underneath it.

Her makeup kit, and piercing cleaning kit, were in the top-left drawer of her dresser. Her haircare stuff was in the top-right side. The shirts she wore the most were just below the haircare. She didn't use her closet for much, other than to keep more of her books, manga - which is a lot more than she had in London - and her Shadowhunter gear and the dresses she had to wear during 'official meetings' or 'fancy parties', neither of which she attended regularly.

The makeup she used most sat in a neat pile on top of her dresser, along with her copy of the Shadowhunter Codex, Grey Book, and her Stele (extras, just in case, were stashed in the back corner of her bottom drawer).

Some of her boots resided there as well, but her more used shoes - her ankle boots, were located next to her door so she could grab them on her way out. Her phone was charging on her nightstand, though most of the time she forgot about it so it might be on the charge for days before she actually needed it.

Her violin was propped in the closet as well, having hardly touched it since her parabatai ceremony.

It was barely dawn when her phone started ringing and she groaned. Rolling over, she unplugged it, checked who was calling her at this ungodly hour. Seraphina. And groaned again before flipping it open.

"Sera?" She answered with a yawn.

"It's six o'clock. Why do you sound like you're not even awake yet?"

The fifteen year old felt a flash of annoyance. If this is why her sister called -

"Nevermind. I was thinking, if you 'd like to join me, Charity and mum in New York, we have… An interesting situation. We were wondering if you and Mark want to join us."

That piqued her interest. She turned on the light, flinching at the sudden brightness. "Define 'interesting situation'."

"Jace Wayland and Cordelia brought a Mundane to the Institute after she was attacked by a Ravener."

The redhead shot up, the fogginess of just waking up evaporating. "They don't-"

"I know. It was a trap set by whomever attack her and her mother's apartment. She's been asleep for a day or so in the infirmary."

"How do you know that?" Valerie asked, puzzled.

"Cordelia told me." Seraphina explained.

She scrambled out of bed, thankful she'd taken a shower the night before after demon hunting - which happened to be the reason she wasn't up before her mother called - and flipped on the light. Her phone was still pressed to her ear.

"I'm interested. I'm not sure if Mark will be, but a few days away won't hurt the bond if he doesn't want to come with."

She heard Sera sign. "Mordred will be there in an hour to create a portal for you. I'm sure he'll stick around to spend time with Elpis."

Mordred was Magnus's younger - half - brother and had spent the last few years in Brooklyn, being taught much of what Magnus knew. He turned eighteen in a few weeks. 

"Elpis and Helen are on a week long hunt." Valerie replied automatically. "They left yesterday."

She could hear Sera's eyes rolling. "Of course they are. I'm sure Elpis will be upset that she missed Mordred."

"Probably." Valerie replied in amusement. "I'll go see if Mark wants to join me in New York and then get ready." They didn't say 'I love you' before hanging up, just a short goodbye. They saved those words for when they were in person. They hardly meant anything when it was over the phone, hundreds of miles away.

She closed her phone and put it on her dresser. She opened the door and made her way down to Mark's room. It wasn't as long of a walk as it usually felt. There was a soft glow coming from his room, so she decided it was probably safe to knock on it and crack it open a little.

"Mark?" She said in a soft voice, not wanting to enter without being invited in. He rarely closed his door - most of the Blackthorns left their door open at night. She didn't want to barge in if he'd actually wanted his privacy.

The door opened a little wider, just enough for her to slide in before she shut the door again.

"Sera called."

He had made his way back to his bed and had started to read whatever he'd been reading again before he put a bookmark in the book.

"She said there's something going on in New York and asked if we wanted to join her, and Charity and my mum."

"You already said you wanted to go, didn't you?" He sounded amused at her, though there was something in his voice that she couldn't catch. Perhaps he wanted to stay, since Helen and Elpis were gone. Someone had to look after the kids while Andrew ran the Institute.

Helen, Elpis, Mark, and Valerie didn't have to go hunting; nobody really had to. There was enough Shadowhunters around - the Enclave - to take care of them. They liked being out and doing their job. They were young enough that it wasn't as much of a chore to do. They didn't have children to worry about.

They lived at the Institute, and that meant they were more or less expected to go out if nobody else could, and they usually just volunteered.

"Of course. Any excuse to see the Lightwoods is a good reason to go."

She was actually closer with Jace and Cordelia, than Alec, or Isabelle, but they were all close enough in age that they'd all met at least once or twice.

He laughed at her words. "I'll stay here and watch after everyone, at least until Helen gets back."

Valerie rolled her eyes at him. Of course he'd say that. "It isn't going to be more than a few days."

"I figured."

She frowned at him. There was definitely something in his voice that she couldn't understand. It was a mixture between exasperation - a tone usually reserved for Julian or herself when she was being particularly nosey- and possibly… sorrow. There were other emotions that she couldn't place, that he never usually showed anyone.

Maybe she shouldn't have asked if he wanted to join her in New York. "Are you alright?"

He looked like he was about to lie to her when he caught a glimpse of her worried eyes. "It's been two years since Eleanor died." His Blackthorn blue-green eyes glimmered, as if her were fighting tears.

Oh. His stepmother. She died shortly after Tavvy was born and he just turned two a few weeks ago. She didn't know how to respond, to comfort him. She hadn't known his stepmother well - had barely been here two months when she passed - and… she couldn't imagine it.

Not only had his biological mother died when he was young, but his stepmother as well. She couldn't…

Valerie never knew about what happened to her biological parents, Jessie always promised her, when she is old enough, she'll know everything.

She swallowed, not wanting to say anything. The only reason they became Parabatai this past Spring was because Valerie hadn't wanted to leave, hadn't wanted to go back to London, it wasn't that she didn't like living with mother and Sera. But she'd been selfish when she'd asked if Mark wanted to be her warrior partner.

She shouldn't have asked him when he had just lost his stepmother. She had been afraid Mr. Blackthorn would send her away, and she hadn't wanted to go to London. She should not have worried, they'd know Eleanor was sick when they offered to let her train here instead of where she'd grown up.

She made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

Sometime later, Valerie made her way back to her room to get ready. It didn't take her long to get dressed.

Ripped black jeans, an Evanescence shirt that slid off one shoulder, and her black ankle boots. She wasn't sure if she needed her jacket, but figured it would be better to be prepared than to get caught off guard because of some weird weather patterns.

She pulled her hair back into a messybun and started on her makeup. The smokey eyeshadow, her eyeliner a little thicker than usual but still normal, with a wing on the end. The mascara made the look appear bolder. Adding cherryred lipstick with some lip gloss on top, and she was ready to go.

She glanced in the mirror one last time and, not for the first time, wondered what people saw when they first met her. Her - literal - gold eyes, redhair, her lip and nose ring, the chain that ran from the bottom of her ear to the top, and her tongue ring. Her slightly pointed ears from however long she'd been in Faerie. 

They assumed it had only been a couple of years, since she'd been about four years old when she'd been given to Jessie by a Faerie that her adoptive mother wouldn't tell her the name of. 

She also had darker skin than they rest of the current Herondales. 

At least most of the people she saw daily were used to what she looked like. She could still see Mark's worried face when they went to the mall a few weeks after their Parabatai ceremony and he saw what she was planning on doing. The only piercings she had were her ears- just once, and the diamonds she wore, Jessie gifted her, Valerie had protested to not give her, as she thought they are really expensive and unique, but Jessie brushed off her protest, smiling, and for the first time, she said they belonged to Valerie's biological mother, as it was gifted by to her, by Valerie's father, and Valerie once again asked her for her parents name, but Jessie only said, "Not yet, but very soon, you'll findout."

She turned away and put a few days worth of clothes in her duffle bag, along with her gear, cleaning kit, some makeup (which she'd put in a sandwich bag so it didn't get all over everything), her phone charger (which she would hopefully not need) and extra hair bands just incase. She didn't bother with extra weapons. If she needed them, she could always swing by their Weapons room or a local church and get a few blades.

As she was leaving her room, she grabbed her phone and flipped off the lights. She made it to the front door just as Mordred arrived. No matter how many times she saw him do magic, it was always weird to think of him as a Warlock. And the son of a Greater Demon, at that. His red cat eyes gleamed as the sun started to rise, his white hair slightly ruffled as if he'd just gotten up.

He had a wary expression on his face, as if he had an idea of what was about to happen - even though foreseeing the future was just something Mundanes made up to make themselves feel better. He wasn't much older than her, just over three years, but the way he held himself could be interpreted as him being much older than barely eighteen.

He spent his time mostly in Brooklyn with Magnus, who had raised him after what happened with his parents. She only knew some of it: he'd come into his powers late, had been trying to protect his Mum from his stepfather, and ended up killing both his stepfather and Mother.

She also knew that was the day that Elpis said her first physical words in over a decade. Elpis wasn't a normal Nephilim: she had been experimented on by Valentine when she was a child. She hadn't been born Nephilim, but Valentine had made her one. It gave her a different sort of magic. She was blind, and had no color to her body - except for the Runes she wore.

Elpis had been raised by the Iron Sisters. Named by them too. Nobody knew what her name had been before, she'd been kidnapped before she was a year old and when she had been found…. Well, the damage was done. Valerie hadn't been born yet when she'd been discovered after the Uprising. She could still see, Valerie knew, in the way that Silent Brothers still saw- at least, loosely. She couldn't see anything besides runes and her opponent.

Elpis also had the ability to speak mind-to-mind, though Valerie had never been subjected to that particularly weird anomaly. She'd only heard it from the Silent Brothers, never from someone who didn't wear their runes. She was also Parabatai with Mark's older sister, Helen.

There were probably other things different about Elpis, that nobody knew about.

She gave Mordred a smile. "Still to early in New York?"

He grumbled something she couldn't catch. Sounded like  _ I was up all night _ .

Me too, she thought. It was far to early, usually after a late night demon hunt she slept in until about eight.

It was still a strange sensation for her. Despite a portal being generally used for long distance transportation, she didn't like it.

This standing in one place and suddenly being in another? It didn't sit well with her stomach, even though she'd had to use this form of travel a few times in the past.

She had to catch her breath when they appeared on the steps on the New York Institute.

Mordred had an amused look on his face. She shot him a glare. "Thank you." She didn't care if it would be seen as inappropriate, to the other Nephilim, to hug the Warlock. She did just that. She was a descendant of one of their kind, anyway. She had infernal blood running through her veins, even if it had been generations since.

She was often told she could've passed for their - William and Theresa Herondale - Granddaughter instead of their Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter.

He hugged her back, patted her on the head, before he turned and walked down to the street. Even as someone who was born into magic, it seemed like he couldn't be bothered to use it all the time. He got into a cab and she rolled her eyes before going inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Hayley didn't know what to think, when Jace and Cordelia brought a mundane with them.

She knew for the fact they completely lost their mind, when they brought the redhead girl.

"Hayley," Cordelia waved her hand, in Hayley's face. "Earth to Hayley, whenever you're ready to listen what I am saying, I am right here."

Hayley rolled her eyes, and glared at her best friend. They were sitting in kitchen, eating breakfast. 

It had been a day since Jace and Cordelia brought redhead girl to institute.

Mundane girl was still unconscious, making everyone - apart from Cordelia, Poppy and Brandon - wonder if she is going to die in her dream. 

Poppy and Brandon were staying at institute too, which everyone was surprised about. They'd rarely stayed at the Institute, 

And what the three Lightwoods, Jace and Cordelia found suspicious was that, the mundane girl knew Poppy and Brandon, and Poppy and Brandon knew her too, which was really odd.

"I think she'll bring us a lot of trouble. And really big change in our lives, and in entire Shadow World." Cordelia mused, as she took a sip of her tea. 

Hayley frowned, but before she could say anything, the doors of kitchen creaked open, and inside came Brandon and Poppy, followed by Alec, Izzy, Jace and Valerie.

Hayley glanced at her Cordelia, and tried not to smile. She watched the way Cordelia had looked at Brandon, her blue-grey eyes filled with happiness, at the sight of blonde boy.

"When did you get here?" Hayley asked Valerie, as they all sat at table.

"I just arrived." Valerie explained with smile.

Hayley eyed her thoughtfully. 

She always found Valerie's amber eyes unique and beautiful, her eyes even more beautiful, then Jace's are.

Hayley shook her head, she'd been thinking about Valerie a lot lately, and at one point came to think about her sexuality as well. 

She did used to date a boys, but it never felt right, and never had a feelings for any of them. She thought of her parents and siblings. She knew if it would be possible she was lesbian, if and whenever she would came out to her parents and siblings, they'd accept it without hesitation.

"Hayley!"

Hayley jumped startled, "W-What?" She looked around the table and everyone was staring at her. 

Cordelia raised her eyebrows in amusement. "I asked you, how are your siblings in Madrid?" Poppy drawled.

"They are all well," Hayley said. "Philip said before I came here, that he'll come to visit you and Jasmine soon, Landon might stop by in a few days." She said.

At that Poppy's lips pulled into a smile, her green eyes lit up, "That's great."

Hayley could only nod, as she moved her gaze to Brandon, who's gaze fell on Cordelia for few moments, before looking away. 

What Hayley couldn't understand is why Brandon and Cordelia are not dating each other already? When it's obvious to everyone how they are in love with each other.

Whenever Brandon would glance at Cordelia, Alec and Jace glare at blonde boy, which made Hayley snort. 

Often Alec and Jace were overprotective brothers about Isabelle and Cordelia.

"Have you seen any of the Lightwoods of London lately, Hayley?" Isabelle said, snapping Hayley of her thoughts.

"No, not yet," Hayley said. "But I did talked with Magdalena, she said they'll try to visit soon, first Madrid, and then here in New York."

"That's great." Isabelle said cheerfully.

There were three Lightwood families. One Lightwood family from Madrid, second Lightwood family from London, and third from New York.

The one from Madrid was Hayley's family, they were descedants of Jonathan and Jessamine Lightwood. 

The Lightwoods from London were descedants of Andrew and Sophia Lightwood. 

And the Lightwoods from New York, were descedants of Gabriel and Cecily Lightwood.

"I still don't understand why you went after a mundane." Valerie shook her head.

Jace shrugged, "I was curious about her, and I dragged along with myself, Cordelia as well." He grinned, as Cordelia rolled her eyes, with a huff.

"Is she a shadowhunter, perhaps?" Hayley asked Brandon and Poppy.

"Yes." Poppy said, carefully.

"She seems to know you two," Alec mused. "Do you know who are her parents?"

Brandon and Poppy exchanged looks.

"We don't know." Brandon said.

"Are you sure about that?" Cordelia said softly, as she leaned forward towards Brandon and Poppy, her steel grey eyes fixed on them, eyeing them carefully.

"Yes." Poppy said simply.

Cordelia didn't look convinced, as she frowned, but still nodded.

"Someone should be with her," Hayley said, breaking the silence. "Perhaps she'll wake up soon."

"Did anyone get her clothes? We can't expect her to wear any of our clothes." Valerie sat her bag down.

Cordelia, Hayley, and Isabelle looked at eachother. "She can probably fit into some of ours." Hayley said.

Valerie clicked her tongue. "I can't believe any of you, especially Isabelle, didn't want to go shopping." She sounded almost disappointed in her friends.

Cordelia raised her eyebrow, "I am not going shopping for that girl." 

Valerie rolled her eyes, and glanced at Hayley and Isabelle who shook their heads. 

Cordelia sighed dramatically and stood up, "You all know where to find me, if there is a natural disaster."

Hayley couldn't help but chuckle at her best friend, as she watched her leaving the kitchen.

"I am going to the library, if any of you change your mind about joining me to go shopping, you can find me there." Valerie said and left the kitchen.

"Isabelle!" Brandon, Alec, Poppy, Jace and Hayley yelped in unison, as Isabelle jumped startled. 

"What? What is it?" Isabelle's dark brown eyes widened. 

"You forgot about your coffee! Look!" Hayley pointed behind Isabelle, the coffee Isabelle attempted to make, was on fire.

Poppy cursed, and took her and Brandon's glass and threw water on the fire, as it stopped burning.

"Next time," Alec glared at his sister. "Please don't make coffee, ask someone else to make." 

“It isn’t my fault!” Izzy explained. “Valerie showing up here distracted me!”

“First rule of the kitchen,” Poppy ground out, “Don’t get distracted by people.”


	4. Chapter 4

Cordelia hummed to herself, as she walked towards the greenhouse. She hadn't seen her duck since yesterday. 

Yes, Cordelia Lovelace had a duck for a pet, whom she had affectionately named Miss Puddles. Jace was annoyed with her pet, but only tolerated Miss Puddles because of Cordelia. Alec, Izzy and Max adored Miss Puddles, just like Cordelia. She pushed the doors of greenhouse opened.

Jace often glared at her pet, making ideal threats about cooking Miss Puddles - whom was usually referred to as MP if nobody wanted to say her full name - or dinner one night.

The idea made her smile. That Jace would get close enough to her pet to kill her, and then have the courage to eat her as well.

Her mother, adoptive mother technically, had made them duck one night before anyone really knew about Cordelia's.. affection for ducks (it had started as a joke, but Cordelia did really like the creatures), or Jace's aversion to them.

Even dead, Jace couldn't bring himself to be near it. Cordelia had been horrified that anyone would want to cook and eat one.

A couple days later they had been at the park and Cordelia had decided that she wanted a pet duck, to Jace's horror and Maryse's amusement. 

Cordelia had been ten, and had decided to name her first pet duck Miss Daisy. Eleven when she had decided that Miss Daisy needed a friend, and had gotten Mr. Jamie.

She wouldn't admit it, but two ducks was hard for her to take care of two was more challenging, but she had done it successfully for four years. They hadn't died, from lack of care or attention. 

In fact, she would argue that they got more attention than Miss Daisy did when it had just been her.

A year ago, Miss Puddles had hatched. The only ducking of the two priory mentioned ducks. She didn't know what had happened to Miss Daisy or Mr Jamie a few months later, but after they'd gone missing - considering they were on the roof of an Institute they couldn't have gone far - Hodge had helped her build a fence around their habitat so Miss Puddles wouldn't be able to run off.

A few days after they had finished building, they had found Miss Daisy and Mr Jamie, both dead. They had gotten themselves trapped in some of the more dense part of the greenhouse, and it had been Hodge whom had finally found them. 

Cordelia had been distraught for days.

Cordelia walked towards habitat where Miss Puddles was, and picked up the duck, smiling.

"I never understood why you love ducks." a male voice, asked behind her, with a dramatic sigh.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, as she turned around. "And I keep asking you, why you don't like them?" She raised her eyebrow, as she looked up at familiar dark blue eyes. 

The ghost rolled his eyes. "You know why I don't like ducks. Bloodthirsty beasts."

Cordelia snorted, with a huff, "I can't imagine why you don't like them, Uncle Will." 

Will Herondale waved his hands dramatically, but before he could say anything more on the subject, she asked, "Have you found Lucie yet?"

Lucie Herondale hadn't visited in a few weeks, and Cordelia had later learned that her half-sister had gone missing. She didn't know how ghosts disappeared if they weren't reborn; and she didn't get the feeling that Lucie, James, Uncle Will, or the others, were interested in such things. They were content to wait for Jessie, Jem, Aunt Sophia, and Tessa, so they could all be reincarnated at possibly the same time.

There was a noticeable pause before her uncle replied, "No, we haven't had any luck finding her. She has probably gone off, looking for Nina."

Nina was Lucie's twin. She had killed herself when she was almost seventeen, a few weeks after she had her marks stripped for something she hadn't done. The Clave hadn't wanted to admit they had made a mistake, and been hasty in the trial. They hadn't even given her a trial by Mortal Sword. 

It had later been discovered that Cristina Herondale hadn't been the one whom had brought back Jesse Blackthorn, but instead it had been Grace Blackthorn. 

Grace had never been punished, since the Clave had already stripped someone's marks and nobody had been told that they'd made a mistake - that Inquisitor Bridgestock had been too quick to point his finger and push for the worst possible punishment for the Nephilim.

The only reason Nina's parents and siblings had found out the truth had been because Jem – and Charlotte – told them. Her mother had been willing to leave the Clave, but wasn’t willing to ask that of her husband or children.

Matthew had left the Clave, after people had started asking about who the mother of his son was. Cordelia still didn’t know who Grant Fairchild’s mother had been, nobody brought it up. Grant had decided, some time before she had been born, that he wanted to be reborn so she had never met him. His marks had never been stripped, nor had anyone been able to find him.

From what Cordelia had been told, when Grant turned eighteen he had joined the Clave. Much to his father’s disapproval. Nobody bothered trying to find out who his mother had been, since they all assumed that he didn’t know anyone other than the woman who had helped raise him.

Matthew had returned to the London Institute, once. When Will had died, he had been there. He made a few other appearances. When his mother and father had died. James and Matthew had died within a few years of each other, Matthew in 1965 and James in 1968. Despite Matthew having left the Clave, he was still given the proper burial for the Nephilum. His ashes were in The Silent City, somewhere, making their archive wards stronger.

Before Cordelia could say anything about her Uncle’s blatant lie, the door to the Greenhouse opened and Jace stuck his head through the entrance, glaring at Miss Puddles. 

“Valerie is insistent on going shopping for clothes for Clary, and I won’t go alone with her. She’ll be at the mall for hours if you don’t join us.” 

Cordelia rolled her eyes, pointing a finger at her uncle. “We aren’t done with this conversation.” 

Will shrugged, “I think we are.” he said before vanishing, going back to wherever ghosts reside.

She shook her head at him before putting Miss Puddles down and leaving the little habitat, making sure to close the gate before making her way over to Jace.

“You owe me.” she grumbled.

“It’s weird when you talk to ghosts.” he said, ignoring her words. He sounded a little jealous, that she could see - and talk to - the dead. It was always a sore spot for him, that she could do something he couldn’t.

"Are you jealous?" Cordelia said, amused.

Jace turned to her wide eyed, as they walked down the hall, "What? No! Of course, I am not!" 

"Are you sure?" Cordelia smirked.

"Yes." Jace rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say." Cordelia said cheerfully.

As the two siblings walked down the hall, towards the elevator, as Hayley talked with Valerie. 

The redhead and black haired girl, turned around, as Cordelia and Jace approached them.

"Are you coming with us to shopping, Hayley?" Jace asked.

"Yeah," Hayley nodded.

"Good luck," Cordelia said, gravelly. "If we return alive, because of how long we'll stay in mall."

At that Hayley paled dramatically, "Actually, you know what? Isabelle asked me for a help for something and -"

"You can help Isabelle later, now we are going to mall." Valerie said, as she threw Cordelia and Jace glare.

"Besides," Valerie added. "We won't be there as long as these two-" she pointed at Jace and Cordelia "-think that we will be."

"I know you, Valerie." Cordelia glared back at Valerie. "Your 'not staying long' means, at least a few hours." 

"Not this, time," Valerie shook her head. "You'll see."


	5. City of Bones: Chapter 5

"I speak for us all when I say: we aren't going to the mall with you ever again." Jace was saying as they walked through the Institute doors.

Valerie had to force herself to not roll her eyes at him. "It wasn't _that_ bad."

"We spent a hour and half in one store before you decided that nothing there would fit the Mundane in the Institute." Cordelia grumbled.

" _That_ store barely had anything that matched her hair, and what it _did_ have wasn't in petite." Valerie protested.

"If she wakes up, I don't think she'll care that her clothes don't match her hair." Hayley sighed.

"It could have been worse." Valerie shrugged, uncaring. "We could have been at the mall for several hours instead of just four."

"Mark just laughed at us when we called him."

"You shouldn't have called him." This time Valerie did roll her eyes. 

"We thought he would be able to give us advice onto how to get you to hurry up." Cordelia said, sadly. "And he told us, he doesn't have any advice other than being patient."

Valerie began laughing, "And that is something you cannot be. Well Jace, can't be patient." She smirked.

"What about me and Cordelia?" Hayley said, amused, as they walked inside the infirmary. "We are not exactly patient either." Cordelia nodded in agreement.

"Well, you are definitely more patient than Jace. But I don't think, you were much patient this time, while we were at mall." She said, as she put down the bag with clothes, for Clary.

"Do you think she'll wake up?" Hayley mused, as she watched Clary.

"Yes, she will, most likely." It was Cordelia who answered, as she moved and stood next to Hayley.

"She's a Mundane, bit by a demon." Hayley said, pessimisticly.

"She is not an ordinary random mundane. . ." Cordelia said, quitely. "She. . . She is really important."

"How can possibly a mundane girl be so important, Delia?" A voice behind them said.

Cordelia, Jace, Hayley and Valerie turned around startled.

"Landon!" Hayley exclaimed, her eyes lighting up, as she ran towards her twin brother.

"I do not know," Cordelia muttered as she turned to Landon Lightwood. "I just… have a feeling that she is important."

Valerie eyed Cordelia, wondering what her friend was thinking and why she'd gotten a far away look in her eyes. Her grey eyed friend blinked and the look was gone.

"I do believe you promised to play a few songs on the violin if we stayed with you at the mall." 

Valerie's hand twitched at her side. She had said something about playing a song or two on the violin, that was correct, but nobody had responded to her words so she'd just assumed they were being decent friends and not abandoning her at a mall, in a city she didn't know.

She loved her violin back at the Los Angeles Institute. But she'd been playing it less and less the more she focused on her training, on keeping up with her languages and making sure she didn't forget any words of the languages she'd learned throughout the years..

She swallowed, giving Cordelia the best arrogant grin she could muster. "I haven't anything long on a violin in almost two years." She kept her voice even, refusing to let show that she'd stopped playing - completely- when Mark and her had become _parabatai_.

She… some part of her must have decided that she couldn't be a great Shadowhunter if she spent more time playing instruments than learning more languages and learning how to make / repair weapons.

She was barely able to make daggers. And even those she wasn't fully comfortable with to share. She needed to work more on that aspect of her skills. It was something she would be working on, right now, if she were back in LA.

She knew Mark worried about her not playing her violin, having come to like her playing it and she was sure he wondered what was going through her mind when she'd started to let it collect dust.

Cordelia raised her eyebrow, looking at Valerie thoughtfully, "Well then, you can play now. And I will accompany you on piano."

Valerie shrugged at the words. "If you insist on hearing sounds akin to a screaming cat." 

"You can't be _that_ bad." Jace teased. "I remember when you could rival Cordelia in playing the violin." 

She gave another shrug. "That was years ago." When they were eight, Jessie had brought her, Seraphina, and Charity (Sera and Char had been nine at the time) to New York for a few days while she went off and did something they'd never been told about. 

In that time, while Cordelia was still learning how to speak English, they'd played the violin - since the Language of Music was universal and hard to misunderstand - for hours. 

That had been back when they were all kids and weren't expected to fight demons or keep up on their studies. 

That was when the most they'd had to worry about was memorizing Runes and their uses. Back when they hadn't been allowed to use real weapons and instead used wooden swords for their blades (or, in Isabelle's case, rope for the whip she now carried).

She missed that time, when everything was simpler and she was worried about who her true parents were; if they'd been stripped of their mark's, if she wasn't really a Herondale. 

That was why she didn't make time for playing the violin. The last thing she'd done, before the crushing reality of not knowing who she really was had set it, was become _Parabatai_ with Mark and get her new piercings. 

She didn't know when it happened or what triggered it, she'd just woken up one day and felt… different. More aware of the fact that she wasn't just a fifteen year old, she was a _warrior_ now with her best friend as her _warrior partner_. And she didn't know herself like he knew himself.

She sighed at the three of them, at least she wouldn't have to play with a bigger audience than the ones who had gone to the mall with her - well, one person more but Landon hardly counted as someone she needed to be nervous about playing in front of.

"You should play the piano, Jace, and Cordelia should play the violin with me."

The two adopted siblings shared a _look_ and then shrugged. "Alright." They said simultaneously. 

The five of them migrated to the Music Room, Cordelia holding out a violin and bow.

Valerie hesitantly took them, putting the violin up to her shoulder at the same time Cordelia did, Jace taking his seat at the piano.

The hand holding the bow felt sweaty and her was nervous about accidentally dropping it and the violin. 

Jace started the melody. It was soft, and slow at first. She didn't recognize the tune. So either it was something new, something she'd never heard, something Jace had composed himself, or he was freestyling.

The grin he shot at her from over his shoulder told her it was the last one - there was no rhyme or reason to what he was playing. He was making it up as he went and that made her both irritated and nervous. 

Steeling her nerves, she decided that she'd been thinking to hard about how to blend a melody she didn't know with an instrument she hadn't touched in months. 

Whatever came of this, she supposed, would either be something exceptionally good or traumatic for everyone involved. 

It took her hand and arm moment to start after she'd decided it was time to join.The first chord she struck made her flinch, it clashed to hard with the soft melody and she wasn't sure she wanted to continue. But, she had told them she would play and Valeria Nichole Herondale would not be going back on her word.

She started again, this time the melody sounded better suited to what he was playing and she let out a slightly relieved sigh.

Cordelia joined in a moment later. The melody the three of them created was slightly haunting - like something one would hear at the opera house. 

Soon, Valerie wasn't thinking about what note she was playing. She was all but swaying in the music, in the familiar movement of bow and violin. She hadn't realised how much she had missed playing.

The other two stopped playing after a while and it was just herself creating the sound now. She didn't mind. 

The music cut off suddenly when Valerie heard the door opening and for a moment, she'd forgotten she was in New York and not in Los Angeles.

The first name to tumble from her lips - because he was the only one who would try sneaking in to listen to her play after so many months - was Mark's.

She heard Cordelia saying Aline, and Jace saying Alec, as the three of them turned and saw …

Not who they'd thought it was.

"I'm not Mark, Aline, or Alec." She said eyeing the three of them. "I'm Clary."

Landon and Hayley snorted at her words. Valerie had a hard time keeping her face neutral. 

"Sleeping beauty finally wakes." Jace said with a smirk, still perched on the bench.

"Who finally kissed you awake?" Cordelia added, though her tone was anything but teasing. Unlike Jace, who's tone had definitely been both teasing and flirty.

Clary blushed, though Valerie could see her green eyes flashing with annoyance. 

"Oh lay off. The both of you." Valerie rolled her eyes. "I doubt Isabelle kissed her to wake her up."

"Maybe Alec did." Landon said, teasing. Though they all knew that Alec wasn't interested in women, nor did he go around kissing random Mundanes - even those who seemed to have survived demon poison. "No? Hodge, then?"

The five of them cringed at the thought of the one who was over twenty years older - and Alec, Jace, Cordelia, Isabelle, and 

Max's teacher - kissing someone who looked fo be at most sixteen. 

Hayley shook her head at her twin, though she was clearly amused by this conversation. 

"I woke up on my own." Clary grumbled.

Valerie shook her head. She was sure they were throwing around to many names for Clary to keep up with. She figured she'd fo the introduction.

"I'm Valeria Herondale," she said, sticking out hand for Clary to shake. "But I prefer to go by Valerie." Clary's eyes lit in recognition. 

"Are you related to Poppy?"

"All Shadowhunters are related, in a way." Cordelia replied for her, her tone clipped.

Valerie ignored her friend's tone. "Poppy is my cousin." She lied easily. Despite not knowing the truth about who she was, it was better if people just thought she was cousins with the other Herondales. Delilah, Jasmine, Poppy.

She gestured to Hayley and Landon. "Those two are Hayley and Landon Lightwood, twins." 

Both the twins had black hair, green eyes, and skin that made them look more Italian than Spanish. Hayley had her hair braided, the braid itself twisting around her head and resting just below her chest. 

Landon's hair was brushed but messy enough for one to think that, at a glance, he didn't know what a brush was.

Simultaneously, both twins held out their hand to Clary.

"Jace and Cordelia you already know, so I wont bother introducing them." She said cheekily, grinning over at the two adopted siblings. 

"Yes," Clary muttered. "Cordelia was the one who kept cursing me, because I moved too much, when I was poisoned."

Cordelia grinned, but her grin vanished quickly, "You mentioned you have a sister. Before you fainted from poison."

Clary's eyes widened, and her face went white, "I need to find her."

"We'll help you to find her," Valerie said. "We can leave soon."

"I seem to remember Hodge saying something about wanting to speak with you, if you woke up." Cordelia muttered. "Perhaps you should speak with him before we going looking for your sister." Her tone was softer, when she mentioned Clary's sister. 

"Fine." Clary grumbled, reluctantly agreeing with Cordelia's words.

"I'll show you to the drawing room," Jace said, standing and moved towards Clary, before leading her away.

Cordelia followed them. She could just hear Clary asking what, exactly, a drawing room was. Cordelia snapped something about it being a fancy living room, that was mainly used for more formal meetings.

Valerie frowned at the door the three of them had disappeared behind.

Cordelia seemed like she wasn't acting like herself towards Clary, and Valerie couldn't figure out why. 

She glanced over at Landon and Hayley, who seemed to be holding their own conversation without words. She shook her head, wondering how they'd gone from five to three in the matter of a minute. 

She put the violin back up to her neck, her eyes closing and she started playing again.

She really had missed playing. When she went home, she would make sure she played her violin more often. 

"Dinner is done!" Izzy announced as she opened the door and it slammed into the wall behind. Valerie jumped, startled at the sudden noise. She hadn't noticed that Hayley and Landon had left.

"Please tell me you didn't try cooking." Valerie groaned, already imagine the burnt smell that would haunt them all night, and the dishes that would need scrubbing to get the burn residue off.

Izzy gave Valerie _a look_ before shaking her head. "No, I ordered Chinese."

Valerie perked. "Did you get me -"

"Schezwan chicken? Yes, I remember that it is your favorite Chinese dish."

"And - "

"Extra wontons, breaded shrimp, and egg drop soup? Yes."

Valerie brightened. "You're the best." She grinned as she sat the instrument down, propping it against the wall (not the one by either door).

The two of them left the music room and made their way to the dinning room. 

It was still a familiar walk, despite having not been at this Institute since she was thirteen- just a few months before she'd moved to LA to train.

They all settled around the table, with Hodge at the head (which was usually reserved for Robert Lightwood) and Alec sat on the other end (where Hodge usually sat).

Clary sat herself between Jace and Valerie, probably assuming that they were the safest people to sit beside (beside Poppy and Brandon, who had just shown up for dinner).

On Valerie's other side sat Hayley. Brandon sat across from Cordelia, and between Poppy and Izzy, with Landon on Izzy's other side.

Both Izzy and Landon sat on either side of Alec.

Despite there being ten people at the table, there was still enough room between them that they could probably sit atleast a dozen more and still be perfectly comfortable. 

Nobody spoke as everyone filled their plates. She could tell something was bothering Clary, but didn't want to pry - not yet. She didn't know Clary enough to ask something that was probably personal, and Clary probably didn't trust any of them, anyway.

After moments of silverware clinking with the plates, and Valerie had enough of the silence, she said to Clary, "How do you like the clothes we picked for you?"

The redhead seemed startled to be the center of everyone's attention. "They're better than what Isabelle had offered me instead."

Izzy looked offended at Clary's words. "That shirt would've looked perfect on you."

Clary choked on a bite of chicken. "That was supposed to be a shirt? You said it was meant to be a dress!" She sputtered. 

"Yes," Izzy said with a dismissing wave of her hand, "On Cordelia, Valerie, Hayley or myself it would have been a shirt. On your petite body? It would have been a minidress."

Valerie snorted. "Really, Izzy? You tried to get her to wear _that_ shirt?"

All three of them knew what shirt Clary was talking about. "That would have traumatized her," Valerie wasn't trying to be mean, but some Mundanes seemed to have self esteem issues when it came to what they were wearing. She was willing to bet the redhead beside her was one of those Mundanes.

Clary blushed at Valerie's words. "I would not have been traumatized by wearing it."

"I beg to differ." Izzy shrugged. "You turned pale and stuttered that you didn't think you would 'comfortable in it'. That's when I gave you the option of what Valerie, Hayley, Cordelia, and Jace got you."

Clary's blush deepened. She mumbled something about just wanting to go home and forget about what happened.

"Stop teasing the Mundane." Landon said, frowning. "I'm sure she's been through enough these past few days."

Clary shot him a grateful look.

"She isn't a Mundane." Cordelia finally said, speaking her first words during the evening meal. "She's Nephilim." She spat the words, as if she couldn't believe that there was a Shadowhunter in their city that they didn't know about, and who apparently hadn't been trained in weaponry or taught their ways.

"She's -" Valerie couldn't believe what Cordelia had said. "She's a bloody Shadowhunter? How did nobody know about her?"

"That's what I want to know." Alec said coldly. "Hodge seems to think she means us no harm, but it does seem suspicious that the night a demon tries to tell us that Valentine is alive -"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Cordelia grumbled. "He's been dead for -"

"Excuse me," Clary cut her off, curiosity in her eyes. "Who is Valentine?"

"A very bad man." Hayley replied. "He and his wife stole the Mortal Cup and almost destroyed our world. No Mundane has Assended in sixteen years."

Upon seeing the confused look on Clary, Poppy added, "Ascension is when a Mundane learns our ways and then drinks from the Mortal Cup to become Nephilim, agreeing to leave their Mundane Life behind. They agree to uphold the Accords and defend both young, other Nephilim, Mundanes, and Downworlders."

"Jace and Cordelia mentioned something about the Accords." Clary responded after a stretch of silence that made everyone think she wasn't going to say anything more. "They're peace treaties, right?"

"Yes," Valerie replied. "They basically say that if Downworlders don't attack us, or Mundanes that they'll have our protection. They can't attack our Institutes, which is what you're in right now, without the full force of the Law coming down on them; they forfeit our protection - and most likely their lives - if they do."

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Tell us in comments!


End file.
